“As assuredly that I sit here with my pen I tell you I cannot express in words the love I have grown to obtain for this, cigarette, here. I may try to convey my experience to you by using beautiful words such as magnificent or extrav- agant, but they would not suffice. My passion to inhale the smoke of this burning stick of tobacco, the smoke that will most likely be the death of me, and blow it into the air no matter its behavior, windy or still, and turn it into something beautiful is far greater than can be expressed with this pen. That smoke, which was at first distasteful and unpleasant, has grown familiar and delicious and I feel every puff that I take in to the point that it’s absurd. I embrace it until I can no longer embrace it, then I empty my lungs so that I may try again and maybe embrace this next puff more deeply than any other puff that has come before it. Each puff, in turn, is more memorable, more loved, and more intensely provocative than the last. In this moment, here and now, I am whole. I am one with myself for I embrace every breath that I take, even the ones full of smoke.”

I give to you this symbol before all others for I have many comments to make on symbols and the horrible misconception that most people have on them. I feel like I should try and express to you what I mean by the word “symbol” before we move forward for I believe that abstract ideas usually get subjective, which is to say specific to the individual or subject, definitions leading to a miscommunication between writer and reader. My subjective definition for the word symbol might be expressed as such, an image or representation that points to an unknown, subjective matter. In this example we have a metaphor that compares the artist’s perspective of smoking a cigarette in relation to how he believes he should view his life. When looked at in this light the fact that the artist, the creator of the symbol, is smoking a cigarette is completely irrelevant. The cigarette is merely a physical object being used to symbolically convey to the reader how he believes he should look at life, a subjective matter.

To sit down and look at this symbol with the perspective that this author is trying to tell you something literal, like that he condones the smoking of cigarettes, would be misinterpreting the entire purpose of a symbol. You should create the meaning of any symbol for yourself, as the artist creates the meaning of that symbol for himself or herself. The artist’s meaning of any symbol is irrelevant and if you look at the symbol like the artist’s meaning is relevant that would be a huge misinterpretation of the reason the artist is sharing the symbol with you. The symbol, or work of art, is shared with you so that you might use it to create meaning, meaning that is purely subjective to you, for yourself. There is no right or wrong meaning, or interpretation, of any symbol. All meaning of a symbol, be it a song, a painting, a poem, a sculpture, or anything, is subjective to the individual for the individual is the one who creates it. So all symbols are meaningless until they are given meaning, and that meaning is specific to the individual. The meaning that you give to the symbol should, in turn, create a new perspective, or a new way of looking at something. That is the purpose of a symbol, for you to use as a tool to gain perspective on subjective matters so that you might be more ready, more prepared, more willing, and more able in the matters of yourself. Your new perspective is neither right or wrong, it is merely a way of looking at something.

Now I give to you a perspective, this letter, a sort of perspective on perspectives, so that you might better understand the role of perspectives and the use of symbols to obtain or create them. I would like another chance to clarify the subjective definition I have of the word intelligence. Intelligence, in my opinion, can be defined as such, how much one has figured out about how to figure things out. So by this definition the more one has figured out about how to figure things out, the more intelligent one is. Also, if one figures out more way to figure things out then one becomes more intelligent. There is an obvious question to be asked when one looks at intelligence in this way, and that is, how does one figure out more way to figure things out? I propose that it is through perspectives, or rather the obtaining or creating of them, that one becomes able to figure out more ways to figure things out.

Let me explain, Now, if a man obtains or creates, a perspective on a task such as building a doghouse, that man may then take that perspective and with it build a doghouse.

Now, if a man were to obtain or create another, different, perspective on how to build a doghouse, that man might go out and build another, sturdier, doghouse.

Now, if that man notices this trend and obtains or creates a hundred perspectives on how to build a doghouse, he might build the most magnificent doghouse on his street.

Now, if that man obtains or creates all perspectives on how to build a doghouse, I say to you that man will be the master of that craft.

Let me dive deeper into this notion. A man’s mental consciousness is made up of many, many perspectives, or ways of looking at things, and with all of those perspectives he creates more perspectives on how he believes he should behave, or act. So as you are reading this letter, a perspective, you are adding it to your “collection” of perspectives and with it creating even more perspectives. Perspective piles on top of perspective creating you, everyone, and me.

So go out and look at the symbols of this world in new light, with this new perspective. Go out and create the meaning of the symbol for yourself, and in turn gain new perspectives, which are neither right nor wrong, but merely more ways of looking at things. Once you have gained a perspective with a symbol, use the symbol as a reminder of the perspective gained so that you might build on top of it more perspectives. I also tell you to share your perspectives others, so that others might see as you see. Take in other perspectives with open arms so that you might better understand all the ways to see. See that together you are all far more experienced, far wiser, than you ever are alone.

Do not act as though you know, for you do not know, you merely perceive, for that is all you are able to do.

Do not act as though others know, for they do not know, they merely perceive, for that is all they are able to do.

Do not argue and bicker over perspectives as though they are right or wrong, for they are merely different ways of looking at things and cannot be right or wrong.

Do not fail to act because of a lack of confidence in your perspectives for experience is the greatest symbol of all and can be used to create more perspectives than you ever imagined conceivable.

Now, I turn to you and tell you to look at the problems of the world, for there are many conflicts and misunderstandings, and I ask what is the cause? Could it be our current perspective on perspective that is the cause of these conflicts and misunderstandings? Could it be how we are looking at each other and other perspectives that is the cause of war, greed, and hatred? If we saw each other, the other compilations of perspectives on this planet, with more acceptance, with greater consciousness, and more understanding would this world be a more peaceful place? I say to you, yes it would! You should share your perspective with each other and you should learn to accept other perspectives so that you might see more clearly the tasks at hand.

I give you a thought, and another thought, and two more, and three more, and five more, and even eight more so that you might create with them a perspective, so that you might see the symbols of great men, of small men, of all men subjectively. Go into the world and create meaning for symbols, gain new perspectives and become wiser. Read the passages, the symbols, of Buddha, of Moses, of Jesus, of Muhammad, of all the wise men of the world and create for them subjective meaning. Do not stop there! Go to Plato, to Nietzsche, to Thoreau, to all the philosophers of the world and through their symbols create new perspective. Keep Growing! Go to musicians, to painters, to sculptors, to writers, to all the artist of the world and use their symbols to create the most beautiful perspectives ever imagined. Now I tell you to take all things, right and wrong, good and bad, strong and weak, left and right, and blend them together so that you might see the whole more clearly.

This gift, this symbol on symbols, this perspective on perspectives, is for you to add to your “collection” so that you may create with it meaning and perspective on subjective matters specific to yourself. I ask you to, please, realize that this whole letter is a symbol for how I think I should view my life. If I can look at my life the way this perspective, here, looks at symbols, at art, I might better understand to create my own meaning, my own purpose, my own experience of this concept we call life.

Why were we born with the ability to lift an eye to the heavens and notice that the stars are not above us but rather all around us, if we don’t even use it?

Take care then take action

The dictionary definition of the word “sane” is, “free of mental derangement, having a sound, healthy mind.” Now, the dictionary definition of the word “derangement” is, “disarrangement, disorder.” So, in order to call yourself sane you have to have complete mental order and arrangement. Can you say that about yourself? If you answered no to that question, doesn’t that mean that you are insane? It’s true that some people are more insane than others to the point where they have lost all control over themselves, but unless you have total control over your mind aren’t you insane by definition?

In every thing that you do, there is a correct series of actions in which to take in order to do it correctly - a formula.  Now in order for you to come up with the correct “formula” for the things that you do, you must first understand all aspects of what you are doing.  Take Algebra as an example.  If you are trying to figure out how to solve an advanced equation but you don’t know basic arithmatic, do you think you will solve the equation correctly?  The same is true for all aspects of your life.  So in order for you to do the different aspects of your life correctly, you must first understand the actions that makes up those formulas. 

What I’m doing right now has a formula.  There is a correct formula for me to follow in order to correctly explain to you that all of the aspects of your life have formulas.  Did I follow the formula? Was the goal of explaining that there are formulas in all of the aspects of your life achieved?

I move on to grief.

The four stages of grief are denial, anger, depression, and bargaining. Acceptance is not a stage of grief but rather the stage after one goes through the grieving stages. The four stages of grief are often applied to intense moments in your life that are difficult to deal with, such as the death of a loved one, because they are easier to see in these applications. However, the reality is you go through these stages much more often than a few times in your life. You go through the stages of grief every time you grieve over the smallest of things, just not on the same scale.

Imagine you are looking forward to a dinner party with a friend which gets canceled shortly before it is supposed to take place. What do you feel? Anger? Sadness? Do you question whether or not your friend could do this? Do you try to bargain? It might not be all of these things like in more intense cases of grief, but it is definitely one of them. Does this not explain almost all of human emotion? Fear and worry are really just you not wanting something to happen that you will cause you grief. Denial, anger, sadness, and bargaining are tools you use to help your psyche deal with the things you grieve.

I propose that acceptance of what is real is the only way to vanquish these emotions. If you truly accept that your friend canceled dinner a little to late for comfort, then how can you grieve?

Imagine two men playing a game of chess. Their goal by playing that game is, obviously, to beat each other. One man is satisfied with the goal of just beating his opponent. However, the other man decides that this goal isn’t specific enough and breaks it down into a more specific desired outcome. His goal becomes to make his opponent’s King not be able to move, and at his disposal are a small number of different tools that he is to use to accomplish this task. Who do you think will win?

Let’s say you are bad at Math and Science but good at English and History. This is due to the fact that, at some point in your life, you figured out the tools on how to master English and History but never figured out the necessary tools for Math and Science.

Think of your life as a series of roads. You are born on a road which forks into many different roads. Every choice you make from that point on leads you down the path of a new road, but still in the same general direction of previous choices, or roads. Down these roads of thought, you figured out how to master English and History. So if you had chosen a different road then maybe you would be good at Math and Science. How do you find that road? Well, to put it simply, go look for it.

I will begin with the concept of intelligence.

The illusion that you have a fixed intelligence when you enter the world is one that is absolutely absurd. Intelligence, put frankly, is how much you have figured out about how to figure things out. Your intelligence expands when you figure out more about how to figure things out. If you ever cannot understand a concept being told to you, it is because you haven’t figured out how to understand the concept, not that you cannot understand the concept. So in order to figure something out, you must first figure out how to figure it out.